Purim – Recognizing Miracles

We are now in the moon of Adar (the 12th moon) where our joy is increased. But we are living in the galut (dispersion, exile) among the very anti-Semitic goy who try and make life for us Jews very difficult. Here in South Africa, our government is instituting a boycott of any Israeli products, persecuting us Jews and having many marches against us because they claim that we live according to an apartheid regime and that we are villains and evil. But is that really true?

But do we live by apartheid? And if so what kind of apartheid are we talking about?  If we are evil then how is this evil defined?  And then, would such opinions not depend on others point of view?  Looking at a torah life as the only way of life and survival may indeed seem stupid or evil from the outside. The Torah makes it very clear that Yisra’el is a kadosh nation. The question is, what does it mean to be kadosh?

Kadosh simply means, “separate” or, “set apart.” The Christian bible translates this Hebrew word, “kadosh” as “holy.” HASHEM made it very clear that we are not allowed to be like the other nations. Are we not to follow the commands and precepts found in the Torah, no matter where we are? To do this, we must separate ourselves in a torah life and culture, not so? Anti-Apartheid (Anti-Kadosh) literally means, “forced conversion,” which is a very wicked act. It is exactly what happened during the Spanish Inquisition where many Jews we killed. Anti-Kadosh, in this sense, is Anti-Semitic.

Now I need to make it very clear that the kadosh'ness' of the Jews is in no way the same as that of the other apartheid regimes, like what happened in South Africa. Us Jews do not hate or mistreat people from other nations or cultures. In fact, Although we are one of the smallest nations in the world, we are the second largest financial, humanitarian aid contributor among all nations. We have a deep love for people and live to be a light to the world bringing morality and righteousness, no matter where we may be.

Unfortunately, because we have not stayed kadosh, and most times, not been able to do so, there is a great amount of Jews that have assimilated into other cultures and religions. This has always been viewed as a great crisis among religious Jews. We have seen throughout history that Jews have been forced to assimilate and convert to other cultures and religions or face the penalty of being kicked out of the community, country or even killed. This is still happening at this moment all around the world to some degree or another, whether it be terrorist attacks, pressure from the governments, boycotts or simple hate speech against us.

So how are we to increase our joy? We could even be justified in being angry at the injustice and clear violation of our human and religious rights that our own governments show us. But no, we are not angry at all. In fact, we rejoice and really do increase our joy. But how is this even possible? There is one simple word that explains how it is possible, “Emuna.”

Through all this tribulation that we are going through, it is fitting that Purim is being celebrated now. Purim is the remembrance and celebration of the great miracles and protection that the Almighty grants us, His nation, Yisra’el. We read the story Esther on this day, which has so many lessons for us.

The story of Esther is about how we were exiled and were living under the Persian King. One of the King’s generals, Hamman, was an evil man and convinced the King to make a decree that all the Jews must be killed because they live by a different set of laws and separate themselves from the people among whom they live (the Persians). So the Jews were to be destroyed because they were living in apartheid.

But HASHEM had His hand over the situation at every single moment. HASHEM caused this to happen, even though it seemed bad. And As Jews we so many times feel that HASHEM has departed from us, and in worldly terms we may even have every right to moan about being persecuted. But this is not what we do. Such events caused us to fast and repent and turn to HASHEM for their salvation. Everything happened as it should have and at the right moments too. In the end, the evil Hamman and his sons were hanged on the very gallows that Hamman built for the hanging of the righteous Jew called Mordechai. At the end we Jews were not only saved then, we also gained all the respect of the King, something we did not have before.

Emuna teaches that there is only One being that is in control of everything and that everything that happens is from Him. And that everything that He does is for the good, even if it may seem bad.

The Name of the Almighty does not appear even once in the entire book of Esther. In fact it is the only book in the entire Tanakh that does not contain the Name at all. This teaches us, among other things too, that even though it seems that HASHEM has hidden Himself from us, that He is still actually in control and watching over us.

The ultimate goal in life is “tikkun” (soul correction) and everything that happens to us happens for the sake of tikkun, because HASHEM loves us.

That is why us Jews can be happy and Joyful at all times, no matter what our circumstances are at any time. We know that everything is for the good.

May we all continue to do teshuva (repentance) and grow closer to HASHEM, by the study and obedience to His Torah so that we may continue to joyfully say: BARUCH HASHEM no matter what our circumstance. To be kadosh (set-apart) is to be satisfied with being different, as we prefer to be what HASHEM wants us to be, no matter where we are or what the circumstances.

Purim Same'ach

Lunar-Sabbath doctrine is stupid!

When someone says ‘keep an open mind about it’ to an avid Torah student, then you can almost be sure that what he is talking about, or trying to reveal, is probably man-made rubbish. This seems to be the case when I was told to keep an open mind about the stupid lunar Sabbath doctrine (Yes I said it is stupid because that is exactly what it is!). Are we not to follow truth and fact rather than opinions?

These people claim that there is 1900 different documents proving the lunar sabbath and zero proving the 7 day weekly cycle where the 7^th day is the Sabbath (by the way, this statement is utter rubbish!). Well , if these people make this claim, then they certainly have never ever read the Word of YHWH before!  Another thing is that they make claims about 1900 documents proving that the Sabbath is determined by the moon cycle, but these people have not been able to produce even one of these so called documents!

Now, if I was confronted with even a million documents speaking of a certain teaching, but the Torah of YHWH says otherwise, who am I going to believe or follow? The million other documents, or the Word of YHWH? I think that this is a no-brainer, I will always choose the Word of the Creator who’s wisdom is greater than everyone and everything! That means that any document that contradicts the Word of YHWH is a false document and the source, or writer, is a liar. Even if a million other people agree with that false document, it still stays false.

Also notice that we are to test everything according to the Torah of YHWH to see if it is right or wrong, just as the Berean’s did when Shaul taught them. They did not just accept the teachings of Shaul, but tested it according to the Torah and the prophets before they accepted his word. Notice that they were noble for doing so.

So let us examine the Torah of YHWH to see if the lunar-sabbath is sound doctrine, or if the 7’th day weekly Sabbath is the Sabbath of YHWH.

Let us start from the beginning:

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array (If you read, chapter 1, you will see that His work was done in six days). And on the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had made” (Gen 2:1-3).
Now does this section of Scripture ever say anything about the moon phase concerning the Sabbath? Certainly not! In fact, there is no mention of the moon determining the Sabbath throughout the entire Scriptures, as we will see further.

What about when the Israelites had to gather manah for food?

“And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mosheh. And he said to them, “This is what יהוה (YHWH) has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה (YHWH). That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ” And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did not stink, and no worm was in it. And Mosheh said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to יהוה (YHWH), today you do not find it in the field. “Gather it six days, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there is none.” (Exodus 16:22-26). Ask yourself again… Is there any mention of the moon here? Or are they to gather the bread for six days, where on the sixth day (preparation day) they gather a double portion, and rest on the Sabbath? Then the cycle begins again!!! I am sure that even the very young children could count to 6 and 7, don’t you?

Now what do the Ten Commandments say about the Sabbath?

“Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart. “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. “For in six days יהוה (YHWH) made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה (YHWH) blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart” (Exodus 20:8-11). Where is the mention of the moon here? If it was so important, I am sure YHWH would have given the instruction to follow the Sabbath according to the moon phase. BUT HE DIDN’T!!! What then did YHWH say? Count six days, which will be the days that you work, and the seventh day you will rest (cease)!

Where does the New Moon day come into all of this, as the lunar-sabbatarians teach? They say that the New Moon day is not counted as a week day! WHAT… that is the most nonsensical thing I have ever heard! If it were true (which it is not), were the Israelites to gather their daily bread on that day too? Then it would not be six days gathering, but rather seven days of gathering (which is NOT what YHWH said and told Mosheh to tell the people!!!). And if they were to rest on that day, would it not have been, rest on the seventh day and the first day too? This is just utter rubbish and not supported by the Word of YHWH!

The more I study the Torah of YHWH, the more absurd the lunar-sabbath doctrine looks!

Shavuot disproves the lunar-sabbath without a doubt!

YHWH probably anticipated (well, He is all knowing) that there were going to be people, in the last days, that would try and deceive the weak into believing the totally false doctrine of the lunar-sabbath. That is why YHWH created the counting of the omer, which completely destroys the false lunar-sabbath doctrine. Let us have a look.

“And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths.  Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה (YHWH)” (Lev 23:15-16).
Now as you can see, that from the day after the weekly Sabbath that falls within chag Matzot (feast of unleavened bread), that you count 7 complete Sabbaths, and then the day after the 7^th Sabbath will be chag Shavuot (feast of weeks). Notice that this count MUST add up to fifty days. Now with the Scriptural 7 day weekly cycle, there are no issues and the count ALWAYS adds up to fifty as required by Torah.

But using the absurd lunar-sabbath, too many issues arise. Now I consider myself to be quite a maths boffin and love doing problem solving. I have spent a lot of time and tried, in many ways, to get the count to Shavuot to be fifty days, using the false lunar-sabbath doctrine. It is just impossible as it has extra days that they claim to not count as week days, but they are days that have to be counted. You see… the lunar-sabbath is utter rubbish and does not fit the requirements of the Torah in any way!

Using the Gregorian calendar to prove when the Sabbath of YHWH is to be kept

Let us now use the pagan Gregorian calendar as a historic witness to when the Sabbath is to be kept. Please note that we do not in any way follow the Gregorian calendar, but are merely using it as a witness to historic events!

Now one thing to remember is that in the days of Yehoshua the Messiah (who kept the correct Sabbath of His Father), the Julian calendar was a 7 day weekly cycle just like we have today.

Now the calendar has not been changed so as to confuse the days of the week. We can be positive that our seventh day is the same day Yehoshua observed when He was here on Earth. Pope Gregory XIII did make a calendar change in 1582, but it did not interfere with the weekly cycle. Our present Gregorian calendar was named after him when he made that small change in 1582.

What did Pope Gregory do to the calendar? Before 1582 the Julian calendar had been in effect, instituted by Julius Ceasar about 46 B.C. and named after him. But the Julian calendar had calculated the length of the year as 365 1/4 days, and the year is actually eleven minutes less than 365 1/4 days. Those eleven minutes accumulated, and by 1582 the numbering of the calendar was ten days out of harmony with the solar system. Gregory simply dropped those ten days out of the numbering of the calendar. It was Thursday, October 4, 1582, and the next day, Friday, should have been October 5. But Gregory made it October 15 instead, dropping exactly ten days to bring the calendar back into harmony with the heavenly bodies.

Were the days of the week confused? No. Friday still followed Thursday, and Saturday still followed Friday. The same seventh day remained, and the weekly cycle was not disturbed in the least. When we keep the seventh day from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset, we are observing the same day Yehoshua kept, and He did it every week according to Luke 4:16.

Now we know that Yehoshua the Messiah kept the Sabbath on the same day as the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish people. Now does history show that all the Jewish sects and communities, from the time of the Messiah until now, that they changed the day that they keep the Sabbath? Well, history proves to us that the Jews of today keep the exact same 7^th day Sabbath as the Messiah 2000 years ago. To think otherwise is evil and is ignoring these proofs.

You see, all Jewish people, even many who did not learn of other calendars, who were scattered all around the world, ALL agreed on when the Sabbath was when they eventually were able to make contact with other Jews because of the advance of technology, there were non that dissagreed on when the Sabbath was.

Another source that we can use is that of the Muslim calendar, which is about 3,000 years old, where thay faithfull kept the day before the Sabbath as their "holy day", and look, what day do they keep today? It is still the same today as it was 3,000 years ago.

Another argument from the lunar sabbatarians that arises is that because we keep the seventh day (where the Gregorian Saturday just happens to fall upon) as the Sabbath, that we are worshipping Saturn who is a pagan idol. If this were true, then the argument could be the same for them, only worse!!! As their erroneous lunar-sabbath falls on Saturn-day, Sun-day, Moon-day, Tyr’s-day, Woden’s-day, Thor’s-day and Frigga-day. All of which are pagan days. It is a pathetic attempt to discredit YHWH’s Sabbath. YHWH’s seven day week (1^st day, 2^nd day, 3^rd day, 4^th day, 5^th day, preparation day and Shabbat) was there long before Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII and their pagan calendars.

Anyone who follows the lunar-sabbath and teaches it to others, is calling the Messiah and His Father liars. These people teach that the Messiah kept the Sabbath on the wrong day. This is an evil teaching and should be thrown in the rubbish bin where it belongs.

Now the moon does have a part in determining time, the sighting of the New Moon indicates the start of a new month (moon), NOT the start of a new week, as we have seen from the above texts.

You can read more about what the lunar-sabbath is all about and where it originates from here.

I hope this evidence opens the eyes of people who are following the lunar-sabbath to repent and turn back to the Scriptural calendar, and for those who are confused by people teaching the evil doctrine of the lunar-sabbath.

Sukkot 5772

Sitting on the gorgeous green grass lawns, under the shade of trees, right next to a flowing river which was far away from any kind of civilization, and studying the Word of the Almighty in His own language was such a delight. We got to do so for about a week and a half with a group of believer friends on the annual Scriptural festival (chag) called Sukkot (feast of tabernacles).

That is one of the major reasons why I have not posted here on my blog this month yet. Between Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), we were also getting ready for Sukkot and really did not have much time to write.

Now the reason for this article is to clear up a few discrepancies concerning Sukkot.

The first point I would like to make is that there were many groups that held Sukkot a day later than they were supposed to keep it according to Scripture. The reason that certain groups did so was because they followed the instruction of other people instead of observing the signs for themselves according to what the Scriptures teach us. One of the major Characters leading many people to observe the appointed times on the incorrect days is Nehemiah Gordon, as he has a huge following and loves the attention rather than pointing people to the Scriptures for themselves.

In order to know when the start of Sukkot is, we first need to know when the sighting of the seventh new moon was, which is the first day of the seventh moon (month). All you need to do then is to count the days until the fifteenth, and that is when Sukkot begins. Now the discrepancy comes in here where the new moon in Israel was sighted a day later than most other places in the world. For example, in the USA and South Africa, where I live, the new moon was sighted on the evening of 28 Sept but in Israel it was sighted on 29 Sept,  which makes the beginning of Sukkot fall on 12 Oct in the USA and South Africa, whereas it begins on 13 Oct in Israel.

Now many people follow the calendar according to when the moon is sighted in Israel even though they sighted the new moon in their own location for themselves a day earlier. This is what Nehemiah Gordon has done and led many people to do so too. But this is certainly not Scriptural! You see, we need to look at a bit of logic here, according to Scripture, we need to observe for ourselves when the times are, and also in our current location. Think a hundred years back, were the people living in South Africa able to know when the new moon was sighted in Israel? Certainly not, as technology was not at the point for people to do so yet. Now that it is possible for us to know, have the rules then changed?

The other problem that needs to be addressed is that of where do we keep Sukkot? The Scripture clearly says that we must go to the place that YHWH chooses. Now Jerusalem is the place where YHWH has chosen to put His Name and that is where all of us are supposed to go up to for Sukkot.

Now you are probably thinking that it is impossible for us all to trek up to Jerusalem, never mind everyone gaining entrance into Israel at the same time. Yes, I agree that this is a little bit of an impossibility as there are very few who can afford to do so now. Even for the majority of Jews are not able to go up to Israel for Sukkot. This is due to the dispersion of the Jews and other Believers all around the world.

So what do we then do, or rather, where do we go for Sukkot? Well, we do the best we can with what we have. We can organize a venue to keep Sukkot at etc, but we can in no way really call it Sukkot or say that the venue is the place where YHWH has placed His Name! There are many Messianic and Hebrew Roots groups who do exactly that. It is a heresy to do so. Do you really think that the Almighty will put His Name on a place that is unclean or anywhere else other than Israel?

So we can do what we can with what we have and only hope that the Almighty finds what we do acceptable. We do however have the hope that when the Messiah Yehoshua returns, that he will rule the world with the Torah and it will be possible for those who desire to go up to Jerusalem for Sukkot to do so, as we read here, “And it shall be that all who are left from all the gentiles which came up against Yerushalayim, shall go up from year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, יהוה (YHWH) of hosts, and to observe the Festival of Booths” (Zec 14:16).

When does the count to Shavuot begin?

The correct date of Shavuot is probably the most controversial and most argued about of all the appointed times of YHWH, besides Pesach. This is due to a lot of confusion created by Rabbis and other men’s ideas on when it should be. The Scripture however is very clear on this point and easy to understand. All we are to do is read the Scripture for ourselves.

The Scripture teaches us: “And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths. Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה (YHWH)” (Lev 23:15-16). So what the Scripture is saying here is that we are to start the counting of the omer from the Sabbath that falls in the feast of unleavened bread (Matzot).

Let us first have a look at what Rabbinical Judaism teaches us when the count of the omer (that is the count till Shavuot) begins. Judaism teaches us that the first day of Matzot is a Sabbath and we are to start the count of the omer from the day after the first day of Matzot. There is one very critical error with this as we will see soon.

To understand why this is not correct, we need to fully understand the attributes of the Appointed times of YHWH. Not all His appointed times have Shabbat status.

The Hebrew word Shabbaton, which describes a specific day to have Sabbath status, is found 11 (eleven) times in the Tanach, all of which occur in the Torah of Mosheh. 6 of those times, the word is used in the phrase Shabbat Shabbaton, and the other 5 occurrences the word Shabbaton is used independent of the phrase above. The term Shabbaton is used to describe the weekly Sabbath and each of the 7th month moadim (appointments).  It also describes the 7th year rest for the land. The word Shabbaton occurs 11 times in 10 verses:  Used for: Sabbath (Shemot/Exodus 16:23; 31:15; 35:2; Vayiqra/Leviticus 23:3), Yom Teru’ah (Vayiqra/Leviticus 23:24), Yom Kippur (Vayiqra/Leviticus 16:31; 23:32), Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles) (Vayiqra/Leviticus 23:39 twice), every seventh year (Vayiqra/Leviticus 25:4, 5).

The word Shabbat and Sheva (Seven) are synonymous with each other and go hand in hand with each other.  The Shabbat is on the Seventh day, the land must rest (Shabbat) every Seventh year, all the appointed times of YHWH that are in the Seventh moon (month) all have Shabbat status etc. On the other side of the coin, none of the appointed times of YHWH that fall in the first and third moons have Shabbat status.

So it is very clear to see that Rabbinical Judaism have it wrong when it comes to the start of the count of the omer as the first and last days of Matzot do not have Shabbat status. So there is only one other option then to when the count must begin. This is of course from the weekly Sabbath that falls in the time period during the feast of unleavened bread (Matzot). Because of this, Shavuot will always fall on a first day of the week. 

Christmas

This might seem like an odd time to post this article here. The reason I am doing so is to point out the lies that we have been taught and that certain things that seems good to us are in actual fact of the occult world. We are to learn from the Scriptures ourselves and stop listening to men to make decisions for us as to what is right and wrong. We must learn the Way of YHWH, not the way of man.

The vast majority of Christians insist on celebrating the “Christmas holiday” as though it has something to do with the birth of “Jesus” – even though most realize that “Jesus” wasn’t born on December 25^th and even that the roots of “Christmas” go deep into paganism and nowhere to be found in the Bible. YHWH never suggested we celebrate birthdays, let alone the birth of the Savior.

The Word of YHWH foretold that the “seed” of woman would come the Savior of all mankind, and by this seed “the Serpent” would be destroyed: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

After the flood when the human race was centralized on the plains of Babylon, haSatan began to turn mankind away from YHWH’s plan of redemption by producing a counterfeit Messiah. HaSatan found an ambitious woman named Semiramis, the widow of Nimrod, he was of course “the mighty hunter before YHWH” (Genesis 10:9) who met with a violent death. Nimrod had been defied as the deliverer from the menace of wild animals. His widow sought to perpetuate his worship while also retaining the power of his kingdom, and she deceived people into believing that she gave birth, through a miraculous conception, to a son she named Tammuz (branch) whom she purported to be the reincarnation of Nimrod. 2,000 BCE saw haSatan’s counterfeit to the promised “Seed.” Semiramis was thenceforth worshipped as “the mother of god” (Madonna) or “the queen of heaven,” and her illegitimate son also became a deity. This is where the ancient Babylonian mystery religion originated, the fountainhead of all idolatry. Every idol, whether mentioned in the Set Apart Scriptures or in Mythology, can be traced to these beginnings.

Alexander Hislop, in his monumental work “The Two Babylons” has shown that papal worship is based on none other than the worship of Nimrod and his wife, disguised in a garb of Christianity. Concerning the Christmas festival Hislop writes: “That Christmas was originally a pagan festival is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, the ceremonies with which it is celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, about the time of the winter solstice. The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves – Yule day – proves at once its pagan and Babylonian origin. “Yule” is the Chaldee name for “infant” or “little child”; and as the 25^th of December was referred to by Anglo-Saxon ancestors as the “Yule-day” or “the child’s day”, and the night that preceded it, “Mother night”, long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was the birthday observed.” (The Two Babylons; Alexander Hislop, pg 93)

As mentioned above, it can be clearly demonstrated from Scripture that Y’hoshua Mashiyach was not born in the winter. Since YHWH in no way authorized the celebration of Christmas, not to mention birthdays, what would posses Christians to fabricate a birth date for our Savior? As early as the First Century Rav Shaul rebuked Gentile followers of Mashiyach for attempting to incorporate paganism into the True Faith: “Then, for when you did not know Elohim, you served those things who, by their very nature, are not Elohim. Now that you have knowledge of Elohim, and especially have knowledge from Elohim, that you have returned to those weak and poor principles, wishing to come under their bondage. You have observed days and months and times and years, I am afraid that perhaps my being among you has been in vain” (Galatians 4:8-11). Rav Shaul’s letters, of course, were not heeded by the Church.

In the year 230 CE the Christian Church founder Tertullian wrote: “By us [Gentile Christians] who are strangers to (Jewish) Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to G-d, the Saturnalia, the feast of January, the Brumalia, , and Matronalia are now frequented, with gifts being carried to and fro.”

Moving on, Tammuz was worshiped as “god” incarnate which implied that he was an incarnation of the “Lord of the heavens.” Since the sun grows stronger after the 25^th of December, this date came to be known as the rebirth of Nimrod and of the Sun. in ancient Rome this day was known as “Natalis Invicti Solis,” the birthday of the unconquered sun. lights were kindled then to burn until the 6^th of January (Epiphany). The week-long feast of Saturnalia was held at the time of the winter solstice, accompanied with much evil revelry and debauchery. HaSatan managed to find masses of gullible and willing men to seduce into believing the lie that these pagan festivals were acceptable to the Almighty, and various “religious men” were instrumental in incorporating them into the Catholic religion. As a matter of fact, it became policy for the papacy to amalgamate heathen festivals with Christendom. Pope Gregory wrote to Augustine the first missionary to the British Isles (CE 597): “Do not destroy the temple of the English gods; change them to Christian churches. Do not forbid the ‘harmless customs’ which have been associated with the old religions; consecrate them to Christian use.” The Vatican views paganism as “harmless customs” which is why the church is rife with paganism that was syncretized into Greco-Roman Christianity.

Sir James Fraser in “The Golden Bough” writes: “Thus it appears that the Christian Church chose to celebrate the birthday of its founder on the 25^th of December in order to transfer the devotion of the heathen from the sun to him who was called the sun of Righteousness. If that was so, there can be no intrinsic improbability in the conjecture that motives of the same sort may have led the ecclesiastical authorities to assimilate the Easter festival of the death and resurrection of their Lord to the festival of the death and resurrection of another Asiatic god which fell in the same season.” To be appealing to the masses, the early post-apostolic church founders asserted their political and immoral relativism against the Word of YHWH, thus making void the Commandments of YHWH by their pagan traditions.

The term “Christmas” first appeared around 450 CE when Pope Julius decreed that all Catholics must celebrate the birthday of Christ at the same time that the heathen were celebrating the pagan Saturnalia feast. It was designated as “Christe-masse” or Christ’s mass. Sadly, there are precious few Christians who recognize that the origin of the “Christmas tree” is from Babylon mystery religion as many believe the tree originated among Christians in Europe. But there are even fewer Christians who know this and will actually dare to speak out to warn others against the pagan origins of Christmas.

The decorated tree represents Tammuz (which means a branch); it is haSatan’s counterfeit of the true “Branch” – Hebrew: NETZER; a shoot; or sprout. Mashiyach was prophetically called “The Root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 11:1, 53:2, Jeremiah 23:5). “Behold the man whose name is The Branch” (Zechariah 6:12). Ancient Babylonian coins pictured a tree stump which represented dead Nimrod and a small tree growing nearby which represented Tammuz. The Egyptians used the palm; the Romans a pine tree. The “X-mas tree” as once worshipped by idolatrous Israelites is described in Jeremiah 10. Mistletoe and holly figured prominently in the early Anglo-Saxon and Druidic tree worship.

“Hear ye the word which YHWH speaks to you, O house of Israel: Thus says YHWH, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be born, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” (Jeremiah 10:1-5).

Clearly Jeremiah records a vivid depiction of a tree that is cut down from a forest, erected and decorated for a religious celebration. Ezekiel also shows how YHWH’s people sorely grieved Him by adopting the “imagery” of Tammuz which now has become the decorated Christmas tree. “Then said He unto me, Son of man, have you seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, ‘YHWH does not see us; YHWH has forsaken the earth.’ He said also unto me, turn yet again, and you shall see greater abominations that they do. Then He brought me to the door of the gate of YHWH’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz” (Ezekiel 8:11-14).

Part of Tammuz worship was to place golden balls on the tree which were representative of his testicles, as he was also considered a god of sex. The women weeping for Tammuz was a pagan ritual that continued long after he died because his sexual services were no longer available. As one can plainly see, the whole hearted Believer would not contribute to the perpetuation of Christmas in any manner; he or she will withdraw from all pagan-born celebrations revered by the same evil spirit that tried to slay the infant Messiah by Herod’s sword. The blood of the slaughtered babies of Bethlehem cries out against the diabolical hatred toward the infant Savior whom the world hated. Sadly, the world is now racing towards the fulfillment of YHWH’s Word his witness shall be slain and “they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry and shall send gifts to one another” (Revelation 11:10).

Christians and all who would follow the Elohim of Awraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov, would do well to act upon Rav Shaul’s teachings, a man of truth! “And have no commerce with the works of darkness which are unfruitful, but reject them” (Ephesians 5:11). Torah reminds us: “You shall not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2). Many think that Christmas isn’t a big deal, even though they know it has pagan origins; but Mashiyach states, “That which is highly esteemed among men is abominable in the sight of Elohim” (Luke 16:15). Rav Shaul writes, “And be not conformed to this world; but be you transformed by the renovation of your minds: and discern you what is the good and acceptable and perfect pleasure of Elohim” (Romans 12:3). All children of Elohim have an obligation to love each other and warn each other against delving into pagan rituals, because this is NOT a light matter, it’s impossible to serve two masters.

The Voice of YHWH

This past weekend that just past was a double rest day, the weekly Sabbath and then Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) the next day. It was so lovely to gather with fellow believers and to learn out of the Torah of what YHWH has given us. I would like to share with you something that really shook me. Let us read some of the Scripture to see what I am talking about (I have highlighted the parts that are relevant to this article):

“And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is Mine

and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl.”

And Mosheh came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which יהוה (YHWH) commanded him.

And all the people answered together and said, “All that יהוה (YHWH) has spoken we shall do.” So Mosheh brought back the words of the people to יהוה (YHWH).

And יהוה (YHWH) said to Mosheh, “See, I am coming to you in the thick cloud, so that the people hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” And Mosheh reported the words of the people to יהוה (YHWH).

And יהוה  said to Mosheh, “Go to the people and set them apart today and tomorrow. And they shall wash their garments,

and shall be prepared by the third day. For on the third day יהוה  shall come down upon Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.

 “And you shall make a border for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death.

 ‘Not a hand is to touch it, but he shall certainly be stoned or shot with an arrow, whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, let them come near the mountain.”

And Mosheh came down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart, and they washed their garments.

And he said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not come near a wife.”

And it came to be, on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain. And the sound of the ram’s horn was very loud, and all the people who were in the camp trembled.

And Mosheh brought the people out of the camp to meet with Elohim, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

And Mount Sinai was in smoke, all of it, because יהוה (YHWH) descended upon it in fire. And its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and all the mountain trembled exceedingly.

And when the blast of the ram’s horn sounded long and became louder and louder, Mosheh spoke, and Elohim answered him by voice.

And יהוה  came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And יהוה  called Mosheh to the top of the mountain, and Mosheh went up.

And יהוה  said to Mosheh, “Go down, and warn the people, lest they break through unto יהוה  to see, and many of them fall.

And let the priests who come near יהוה (YHWH) set themselves apart too, lest יהוה  break out against them.”

And Mosheh said to יהוה (YHWH), “The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Make a border around the mountain and set it apart.’ ”

And יהוה  said to him, “Come, go down and then come up, you and Aharon with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to יהוה, lest He break out against them.”

And Mosheh went down to the people and spoke to them.

And Elohim spoke all these Words, saying,

 “I am יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery.

 “You have no other mighty ones against My face.

 “You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth,

you do not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim am a jealous Ěl, visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands.

 “You do not bring the Name of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim to naught, for יהוה (YHWH) does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught.

 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.

 “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

 “For in six days יהוה (YHWH) made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה (YHWH) blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.

 “Respect your father and your mother, so that your days are prolonged upon the soil which יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim is giving you.

 “You do not murder.

 “You do not commit adultery.

 “You do not steal.

 “You do not bear false witness against your neighbour.

 “You do not covet your neighbour’s house, you do not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbour.”

And all the people saw the thunders, the lightning flashes, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain smoking. And the people saw it, and they trembled and stood at a distance,

and said to Mosheh, “You speak with us and we hear, but let not Elohim speak with us, lest we die.”

And Mosheh said to the people, “Do not fear, for Elohim has come to prove you, and in order that His fear be before you, so that you do not sin.”

So the people stood at a distance, but Mosheh drew near the thick darkness where Elohim was.

And יהוה  said to Mosheh, “Say this to the children of Yisra’ĕl: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens.

You do not make besides Me mighty ones of silver, and you do not make mighty ones of gold for yourselves.

Make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall slaughter on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause My Name to be remembered I shall come to you and bless you.

And if you make Me an altar of stone, do not build it of cut stone, for if you use your chisel on it, you have profaned it.

Nor do you go up by steps to My altar, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.” (Exo 19:5-20:26)

This is a very powerful piece of Scripture. The things that really got my attention is that the Almighty Creator YHWH descended from Heaven and came to earth and spoke in an audible voice to the people. These things that YHWH spoke to the people must have been important that He would verbally speak to the entire male population of Israel. These words just happen to be the Ten Commandments.

Another important thing to point out is that the men who were to come within a certain proximity to YHWH had to cleans themselves and set themselves apart, they were not even to be with their wives for these few days. This is because no uncleanness can EVER come near to where YHWH is. That in this time and day we have to do a daily evaluation of ourselves and repentance for any transgression of the Commands of YHWH so that we too can be clean.

Also notice that the men of Israel agreed to do all that YHWH told them before YHWH told them what it is that He Commands. This is because they understood that it was not about them, but rather all for the esteem of YHWH. What ever YHWH said, they would do.

Now this was an awesome sight. The mountain was rumbling, there was a thick cloud over the mountain with thunder and lightning coming from it. YHWH descended onto the mountain like fire and there were rams horns sounding from the heavens. And then YHWH spoke. Now try and picture this and think for yourself if you too would tremble in your boots just like the Israelites did on that day. Now YHWH did this in order to install fear into the peoples so that they do not sin. Do we have this same fear of YHWH as we should so that we do not sin either? Or has this been driven out of us by religious bullying?

Now the Ten Commandments are very important and still just as relevant today as it was when YHWH spoke these words and wrote them down on stone tablets. What then about the rest of Torah? Well, the rest of Torah teaches us how we can keep to the Ten Commandments. Without the rest of the Torah, we would not understand or be able to keep the Ten Commandments. So we are to diligently guard to do all of the Torah which is the Instruction of YHWH.

Now if we are to be part of YHWH’s treasured possession above all other peoples. Then we are to diligently obey his voice and guard His covenant.

You have to decide for yourself if you are going to do what YHWH requires from you so that you may be saved, or to do what you want to do and not guard to do the Commandments of YHWH unto death.

(False Doctrine no.2) When is the Sabbath?

Scriptural months are based on the moon, and they begin at the first appearance of the visible crescent new moon. Our word month even derives from the word moon, moon(th). But a surprising doctrine is taking hold among a few contending that the weekly Sabbath is also set by the new moon each month. It teaches that the weekly Sabbath day floats all over the week

Once you recover from your utter disbelief at first hearing such a teaching, you entertain the possibility of trying to fit this lunar Sabbath notion into Scripture. You quickly realize that no matter how you try to coax it, twist it or force it, establishing the weekly Sabbath by this method is impossible. It does violence both to historical fact and to YHWH’s clear Commands

Here is how the scheme works:
(Now keep in mind while reading this, will you get to this idea by just reading the Torah and not listening to other peoples ideas?)

The new moon is considered like a Sabbath -- a day of no work. Every month begins with a new moon. The first work day is the second day of the count followed by 5 more work days. That gets you through the 7th day of the month (new moon day plus 6 work days). The 8th day of the month is also the first weekly Sabbath of the month. Six more days of work gets you to the 15th as the next weekly Sabbath. Six more days of work and you come to the 3rd weekly Sabbath on the 22nd. Six more work days gets you to the 29th of the month, which is the last weekly Sabbath in the month. Then comes the next new moon, which is not a work day but is a Sabbath, but not a weekly Sabbath. Thus the weekly Sabbaths will always land on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of month. Some months will end with the weekly Sabbath on the 29th followed by the new moon Sabbath the next day. More often, months will have an extra day or two between the last Sabbath and the next new moon day. Therefore you often have two or three Sabbaths or “non-work days” in a row before the new month begins.

Lunar Month
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30

(Notice that there are two days that they just throw away. Where is that written in the Scriptures? Clearly not a seven day Sabbath cycle as YHWH created)

As we will show, the new moon is not a day of rest or a Sabbath. In addition, the word week derives from a Hebrew word meaning “sevened” (shev-u-wah).  It is connected to a sequence of sevens, NOT to the new moon and NOT to more than seven. It begins with day one and ends with the seventh day, not the eighth day. Neither is “Sabbath” in any way linked etymologically to the word moon.

Falling on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th day of each lunar month initiated by the new moon means the Sabbath would also fall about the time of the new moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter. Most lunar Sabbatarians do not consider the new moon day to be a day of the week, but rather a day of “no regular work.” The first day of the actual week for them comes on the second day of the lunar month, making the eighth day the first weekly Sabbath and not the seventh as YHWH Commands.

But dissension exists in the lunarian ranks because some lunar sabbatarians believe that the weekly Sabbath falls on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of the month.

Such details aside, the general thrust of this theory is that just by looking at the moon you are supposed to be able to tell when the weekly Sabbath occurs, always falling on specific lunar phases. That is the main point for this doctrine--to produce a heavenly marker to determine when the Sabbath occurs, instead of associating the Sabbath with YHWH’s own example of rest as we are commanded, Exodus 20:11, 31:17. We will show the fallacy of the heavenly marker notion momentarily.

The scheme also means that the Sabbath floats around and can land on any day of the week each month. If the new moon falls on a Tuesday, the Sabbath will be on succeeding Tuesdays of that month. Then it will flip to another day of the week the next month when the Sabbath is “re-set” by the appearance of the new moon.

Consider the logistical nightmare for a moment. If you as a lunar Sabbath follower have a regular job or are responsibly self-employed, you are continually taking off work to observe the Sabbath on different days of the week depending on the moon. Does YHWH require playing musical chairs with the Sabbath and make earning a living nearly untenable for the vast majority of believers? Hardly, He is an Elohim of order and consistency, not confusion

Many more difficulties than this, however, are presented by the lunar Sabbath doctrine. As noted, when the end of the month comes it will typically have an extra day or two left over before the next new moon arrives. That’s because the month is 29.5 days from new moon to new moon and not four sevens (28 days).  These extra days don’t fit in anywhere. The Scriptures nowhere recognize them or address them. So what do you do with these leftover days?  

Many lunar sabbatarians just ignore them. Others keep them as Sabbaths, meaning they observe an additional Sabbath or two or three in a row. Try explaining that to your employer or to YHWH for that matter. The Fourth Commandment says to work six days and rest the seventh, which is the Sabbath, not Sabbaths. Scripture nowhere allows for or addresses multiple consecutive Sabbaths. No day can be added in and none can be ignored. All days must fit into the Fourth Commandment command of work for 6, rest the 7^th.

Nothing in YHWH’s Word says the moon has anything to do with the weekly Sabbath. Regardless, there are Herculean efforts to force the lunar Sabbath teaching into the Scriptures. Some lunar proponents also say that the seventh-day Saturday Sabbath is pagan, and that even the universal weekly cycle is pagan in origin. They have a problem with the Sabbath falling on Saturn’s day (Saturday) but apparently have no issue at all when it falls on Sun’s Day, Moon’s Day, Tiw’s day, Woden’s Day, Thor’s Day or Frei’s Day (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday—all honoring heathen deities). Which came first, Saturn’s-day or the seventh day? Man’s spin is irrelevant.

As with every teaching, to be true it must stand up to the scrutiny of the unadulterated Word of YHWH. If not, it’s bogus. In that case we abandon the teaching.

Genesis 1:14-18: A Generic Proof Text

Genesis 1:14-18 is often cited to support a smorgasbord of calendar teachings, including a sunrise Sabbath doctrine and a solar-based, calculated calendar. Not to be left out, the lunar sabbatarians also seize on this Scripture as the preeminent proof for their doctrine. Because the passage is so general in its wording it can be applied to any number of anomalous teachings—a one-size-fits-all scripture.

Here is Genesis 1:14: “And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And Elohim made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And Elohim set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohim saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

Most lunar sabbatarians will make the following assumptions from this verse:

·         Only the “'moon' lights in the heavens” determine the Sabbath, and

·         To determine the monthly cycle of Sabbaths requires the use of both heavenly lights—the sun and the moon.

In truth, what the passage does specifically tell us is that the sun is to mark the day and the moon is to rule the night and that they will be for signs and seasons and that YHWH set the sun and moon in their orbits on the fourth day of creation. That is the end of the specifics. Asked how this passage directly links the moon with the Sabbath, the lunar Sabbatarian begins a game of dodge ball. He must do that because nothing in the Scriptures links the moon and its phases directly to the weekly Sabbath. Incidentally, what role the stars play the lunar Sabbatarian does not explain, giving only a selective interpretation to the passage.

Attempts at a Sabbath in the Sky

Lunar Sabbath proponents believe that the moon must be used to identify the Sabbath because the seventh-day Sabbath rhythm is not otherwise evident in nature. That is not entirely true. Science is finding a continuous, rhythmic, seven-day behavioral cycle built into both the plant and animal kingdoms. Even humans need a regular rest every seven days to maintain good physical and mental health.

Not even seasoned astronomers can simply look at just the moon’s phases and distinguish one day from another with 100 percent accuracy every time. Quarter phases can be confusing in their closeness. Because of such close resemblances in the moon’s appearance the average person would need technical training to determine the Sabbath. He would also need a lot of clear skies during each of those critical phases in order to get the Sabbath right.

When it comes to the Full Moon it gets really uncertain, with three or four consecutive moons every month all appearing full. Which one do you choose as the Sabbath moon? Note this from scientists: “Although Full Moon occurs each month at a specific date and time, the Moon's disk may appear to be full for several nights in a row if it is clear. This is because the percentage of the Moon's disk that appears illuminated changes very slowly around the time of Full Moon. The Moon may appear 100% illuminated only on the night closest to the time of exact Full Moon, but on the night before and night after will appear 97-99% illuminated; most people would not notice the difference. Even two days from Full Moon the Moon's disk is 93-97% illuminated” (quotation from U.S. Naval Observatory).

But that’s not all. Every 2.7 years there are two full moons in a month, the second of which is known as the Blue Moon. So how would the average believer know when that will happen, not to mention decide which full moon is the correct one?

Now be honest: does YHWH establish His weekly Sabbath amid all this uncertainty and confusion? He is not the author of confusion, 1Corinthins 14:33. Are His people supposed to be aware of and distinguish among all the anomalies and similarities in lunar appearances when they keep the day of rest? Do we need college degrees in astronomy to observe the right Sabbath Set Apart? Does that sound like the design of a wise Creator who gives plain and simple laws for us to keep? What about David out tending his flocks in the field, did he know all of this? Or did he just need to know how to count to seven for the proper time to observe the Sabbath? Frankly, the lunar Sabbath scheme appears like the shenanigans of mythical Greek deities trying to frustrate their human subjects just for the fun of it.

The creation account in Genesis 2 plainly teaches that the weekly Sabbath cycle was not based on the heavenly luminaries but simply on the seven days in the original creation week put in perpetual motion by YHWH:

“And on the seventh day Elohim ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which Elohim created and made” (Gen. 2:2-3). The reason the Sabbath is the Sabbath is not because of an association with the new moon and other lunar phases, but because YHWH Himself blessed it and set it apart on the final day of creation week. No wonder He commands us to “remember” the Sabbath to keep it Set Apart. We remember the original Sabbath He created by keeping it exactly as it has been passed down through the millennia. Man-made calendars may tweak the months, but the Sabbath continues in its cycle unchanged and unfazed by any calendar.

The Sabbath and its sequence in the week is the result of a direct action of YHWH —originating entirely from His own personal rest on the seventh day. Because of His own activities the weekly Sabbath is directly tied to worship of Him following His own example. It is His day made for man. No wonder He says the Sabbath is the one sign identifying His people. “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: [now notice the special link:] for in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed,” Exodus 31:17.

Notice further that the “week” is not mentioned in Genesis 1:14. The reference is simply to “seasons” [moedim], “days,” and “years.” Clearly, YHWH established the weekly cycle differently, basing it upon His own example of rest and not on what is seen or reasoned by man. Otherwise He would have included the word “weeks” in the list of things to be determined by the greater and lesser lights of Genesis 1:14. Yet He did not—not in Genesis or anywhere else.

“But seasons means appointed times and the Sabbath is an appointed time,” will be the argument. That is correct. But where does this passage or any other specifically link the new moon to the weekly Sabbath? Nowhere but in the imagination of the lunar Sabbatarian.

Is the New Moon Day a Sabbath of Rest?

Some say the new moon was a day of rest because David was to meet with the king at his table on the new moon, 1Samuel 25. They also say that sacrifices were offered on the new moon, Ezekiel 46:6, just as they were commanded on the Sabbath.

When does a meal with a king constitute a weekly Sabbath? Wouldn’t a Sabbath be indicated by a meeting with a priest at the temple? Neither do sacrifices in themselves prove a Sabbath, because there were sacrifices commanded every day, Numbers 29:6 and Hebrews 7:27.

Was the new moon celebrated with rest in the same way as the Sabbath, as one branch of lunar sabbatarianism claims? If so, why does YHWH Command work on new moon days, and why do we find labor being done on new moon days?

Exodus 40:1, 2 and 17 reads: “And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shall you set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation… And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.” (Read all of Exodus 40 to learn just how much work was done on the new moon day.)

If every new moon day is a Sabbath or a day of no work, why does YHWH command Zerubbabel to gather wood and build the temple upon the first day of the month? (Haggai 1:1, 2, 8, 12).

 If every new moon day is a Sabbath, why do we not find any command to rest upon it (with the exception of the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), which falls on the new moon of the 7th month)?  Shouldn't we find it listed as a Sabbath among the appointed times of Leviticus 23? What explanation can be given to the fact that nowhere in Scripture is the command to cease from labor upon the new moon day, or upon the extra days that fall out each month?

Shabbat and Shabbatown: Different Kinds of Sabbath

Another contention by lunar Sabbath proponents is that because the seven annual feast day Sabbaths are determined by counting from the new moon, so also should the weekly Sabbath be set by the moon because an annual Sabbath is no different from a weekly Sabbath.

Not so.  The word used for the weekly Sabbath (in Hebrew) is “shabbat” (7676) while the word behind the feast day Sabbath is “shabbaton”. High-day Sabbaths are different from the weekly Sabbath. From Exodus 12:16 we learn that on the high day Sabbaths of Unleavened Bread, for instance, some work to prepare food is allowed “so that all may eat.” No such leeway is given for the weekly Sabbath.

The weekly Sabbath is a memorial to YHWH’s creative act and His subsequent rest. He did not create high day Sabbaths by resting on them. To say the weekly Sabbath changes every month according to the cycles of the moon is to make the memorial to the creative rest of YHWH into a memorial to the moon.

More Problems Using Genesis 1:14 

A key problem with the lunar Sabbath doctrine is that events surrounding the creation of the moon in Genesis 1:14-16 did not take place until the 4th day. The week was more than half over by the time the moon was placed into orbit, so how can the moon establish the start of the week?

Never did YHWH ever say He re-set the week after four creation days by utilizing the now-orbiting new moon. That is a critical piece of information we must have if we are to base Sabbath observance on the moon’s cycle as shown by YHWH.

Attempting to be free of this difficulty, some lunar sabbatarians speculate that the moon was created in an advanced phase and that the Sabbath would be made to synchronize with it later on; others speculate that perhaps the moon was already in its orbit the first day of creation but was just hidden behind heavy mist (hidden from what?). Or that YHWH’s creation week and our week are different. To which we ask: where is the chapter and verse supporting these hypotheses? Genuine doctrine does not rest on supposes or maybes. There is not a shred of evidence in Scripture to support such assumptions.

Genesis 1 and 2 are crystal clear that YHWH created the heavens and the earth in six days and then He rested on the seventh. Lunar sabbatarians ignore YHWH’s rest on the seventh day and go solely with a Sabbath-setting lunar phase.

Mysterious Math

The count to the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Shuvuot) also reveals the error in the lunar Sabbath teaching.  Not only must there always be exactly seven days every week in every month of YHWH’s calendar (by Fourth Commandment authority), but the count to Shuvuot must also be seven complete weeks of seven days each, all adding up to exactly 49 days.

YHWH commanded, “And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete,” Leviticus 23:15. Pentecost means 50^th.  It takes exactly 50 days to arrive at Shuvuot—seven Sabbaths of precisely seven days each or 7 x 7 + 1 = 50. Partial weeks or extra days don’t compute.

Numbers 28:26 says the Feast of Firstfruits or Shuvuot comes “after your weeks be out.” “Weeks” is the Hebrew shavua and literally means “sevened” not “lunared.” After your seven sevens are over and complete, then you observe the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. The Bible, An American Translation by Goodspeed says, “…counting fifty days to the day following the seventh Sabbath, and then you shall present to YHWH a grain-offering from the new crop.” The New English Bible says, “The day after the seventh Sabbath will make 50 days…”

You can’t have 7 Sabbaths totaling 51 or 52 days. Because you are spanning two months it is impossible to accomplish this as commanded when a new moon interferes with one of those weeks by adding extra days. You cannot get 7 Sabbaths to equal 49 days under the lunar Sabbath scheme. This fact alone proves the lunar scheme bogus. One lunar Sabbatarian claims that Pentecost is counted for seven weeks and then 50 days are added on top of that, making a combined 99 days. He has apparently never looked at the Hebrew behind the command.

We read in Leviticus 23:15-16: “And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering unto YHWH.” In the phrase “unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath,” the word “unto” is the Hebrew ad and means against or until. Therefore the count goes all the way up to, until, the seventh Sabbath. And the numbered count totals 50 days, not an additional 50 days.

Manna in the wilderness

Consider how the manna was regularly provided each week. When Israel was in the wilderness Exodus plainly teaches that the manna fell for six days, with a double portion falling on the sixth day because none would fall on the seventh-day Sabbath. This went on continuously for 40 years, Exodus 16:35.

Nothing is said about a big interruption of this weekly manna cycle every fourth week by a couple of additional days at the end of the month when the new moon resets the week.

Nothing is said that Israel starved for a few days at the end of each month because of additional Sabbath days or “non-work” days added to the month. For those who count those extra days as non-days, did it mean that a quarter of the time Israel got not 6 but 7, 8 or 9 days of manna gathering? If so, where in the Word is it found?

To mention such a critically important lunar interruption in the 7-day week could not possibly have slipped YHWH’s mind. It is inconceivable that He would not have warned Israel to prepare for it!  After all, He warned them to be sure to gather extra on the sixth day to make up for none on the weekly Sabbath. So why did He not tell them also to gather extra manna the sixth day to eat on the seventh, eighth and possibly ninth day at month’s end? Obviously no lunar-added days ever existed.

This monthly lunar disruption is found nowhere in the Word because the Sabbath cycle that began in Genesis continued unabated. No additional, interpolated days ever interfered with it.

New Testament Dynamites the Lunar Theory

When it comes to the proper Biblical calendar, we need go back no further in time than when our Savior walked this earth. Some proponents claim that the lunar Sabbath was established in Genesis but was replaced by today’s continuous Sabbath cycle soon after the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Thus, lunar sabbatarians would have us believe that the remnant who returned to the land of Israel were keeping a false Sabbath.

This would have been front-page news! Yet, not one word in Scripture about it.

The Sabbath set in motion by YHWH continued to be in effect down to the first century, when Y’hoshua came in the flesh. We know that He came as one "under the law," and that He never sinned (i.e., transgressed the law, 1Pet.2:22).We find Y’hoshua keeping the same Sabbath day Set Apart as did His fellow Jews around Him (Matt 12:1-12; Mark 2:23-28; Mark 1:21; 3:1-4; 6:2; etc.). Y’hoshua never rebuked the Pharisees for keeping the wrong weekly sequence.         

These Events in Y’hoshua’s Life Disprove Lunar Sabbaths

In John 7:37 it is recorded that on the "last great day" of the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) (a high Sabbath that always falls on the 22nd day of the month) Y’hoshua cried out, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink!" In chronological sequence, John 8:1-2 says, "Y’hoshua went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them." So now it’s the 23^rd day of the month.

Chapter 9 is a continuation of the events of that same day when he heals a man of blindness. We are told that this was the weekly Sabbath, the 23^rd of the month, verse 14. But lunar sabbatarians say the lunar Sabbath falls on either the 21st or 22nd. Either scheme violates this provable 23^rd day Sabbath. (See John 7:37-38; 8:1-2, and John 9:1-3, 14, 16.)

Another math meltdown for the lunar Sabbath scheme comes with Passover, which falls on the 14^th of the month of Aviv. Y’hoshua was laid in the tomb at the end of Passover day the 14^th, just before sunset when the 15^th started. He rose three days later (Matt. 12:40), making it the end of the 17^th of Aviv. He came out of the tomb just before sunset on the weekly Sabbath because the two Mary’s found the tomb already empty at “the end of the Sabbath,” Matthew 28:1. Lunar sabbatarians say that the Sabbath must fall either on the 14^th or 15^th, but here on the most important week in all of human history the weekly Sabbath falls on the 17^th.

Having no other response, some lunar advocates take issue with Matthew 12:40, saying Y’hoshua’s words about being in the “heart of the earth” for three days and three nights does not mean in the tomb. Y’hoshua, however, directly compared it to Jonah’s being three days in the fish’s belly.  And Jonah describes his experience this way: “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto YHWH, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [sheol, grave] cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For you had cast me into the deep, in the midst [heart] of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me,” (Jonah 2:2-3). “Midst” means to be enclosed (Hebrew labab).  Jonah was encompassed about by water. Obviously Y’hoshua was enclosed by the tomb in the earth for three days just as Jonah was enclosed in the belly of the beast for three days.

Y'hoshua clinches it when He Himself “began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again,” Mark 8:31. See also John 2:19 and 21. Paul confirms it as well in 1Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that the Messiah died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” Even the chief priests and Pharisees testify to Y’hoshua’s statement that after three days He would rise again” (Matthew 27:63).

Furthermore, those who contend that the 14^th of each month is a Sabbath of rest and no commerce must explain why this 14^th day of the month of Aviv is called in the New Testament a “preparation day” (which is Passover day, the day of preparation for the high Sabbath and not a Sabbath itself). This 14^th day is a day of work and commerce, not a day of rest. See Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:53-54; John 13:29. 

Those who believe a switch to the universal Sabbath cycle came after the time of the Messiah and who believe the Jews (including Y’hoshua) were still keeping lunar Sabbaths must explain why both Scripture and subsequent history show the contrary.

Are Lunar Sabbaths to be found in Scripture?

If lunar Sabbaths are truly based in Scripture, why would we have to search all over its pages with a magnifying glass to find even a hint of them? When something as simple as the continuous weekly cycle is made so complicated, then something is instinctively wrong. When a doctrine lacks Scriptural evidence and must be explained with suppositions, human explanations and a host of forced or twisted Scripture, then it is always suspect.

Ha Satan is working with all power and lying wonders to deceive even the very elect (Matthew 24:24). His greatest desire is to cause those who are under "the sign of the covenant"— the Sabbath—to become confused about that "sign" and turn away from the covenant. If he cannot get them to keep Sunday in place of the true seventh-day Sabbath, then He will be satisfied just to have them turn to "floating Sabbaths" as taught by lunar sabbatarians. Either way the true Sabbath is violated and the Adversary is pleased.

Scripture warns us of Babylon’s influence "And upon her forehead was a name written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth," Revelation 17.

The Start of the Modern Lunar Sabbath Doctrine

All Lunar Sabbath keepers believe and claim that the Lunar Sabbath is derived only from the Scriptures, and is therefore binding on every true believer in YHWH.

In fact, the Lunar Sabbath as has recently been presented, is nothing but a THEORY which was proposed in its present form in about 1993 by a racist, anti-semitic convicted criminal, who got it from the THEORY of a Torahless, liberal-theology, higher-critic, evolutionist Assyriologist called Friedrich Delitzsch who wrote many hundreds of articles and books about the Bible, until he died in 1922.

Friedrich was the son of theologian Franz Delitzsch (died 1890), a German of Jewish parentage, who co-wrote the famous Keil & Delitzsch Bible Commentary, which fiercely defended the evangelical faith of the Bible. At least Keil believed the Bible to be true; Franz Delitzsch has been called a "liberal theologian".

But his son Friedrich taught vehemently that the Bible is not to be taken literally at all. He claimed that the Bible is just a collection of fables stolen from the Babylonians; that Islam, Judaism and Christianity are all equal religions worshipping the same "god"; that Jesus was a mere man, the natural son of Joseph; that Science is the TRUE religion, which will win out over the evangelical faith; that true "Christianity" is a purely social institution of being nice to each other. You can read many more of his godless philosophies by searching online for his once-famous book "BABEL AND BIBLE" to verify these things.

So the provenance of the Luni-Solar Calendar is anything but godly. A 20th-century criminal revived this THEORY invented by a 19th-century heretic, who believed that the Jews originally got their SABBATH from the BABYLONIANS. 

In fact, it is the BABYLONIANS who were the first to observe the Luni-Solar calendar, with their "SABATTU" or day of rest, always falling on the 15th of every month, the Full Moon; and the dates 7, 14, 21 & 28 being named "EVIL DAYS", when they would worship various gods. Therefore, the BABYLONIAN dates of ill-omen occurred at 7-day intervals, except for the last, which spanned either 9 or 10 days until the New Moon. (Sound familiar???) The Babylonians however, believed that these were EVIL DAYS, not days of feasting and gladness, as the Hebrews keep their Sabbaths. 

Various Verses Vindicated

Here are common passages used by lunar sabbatarians equating the new moon day with the Sabbath.

Leviticus 23:2-4: YHWH’s command for the seven annual Feasts is prefaced in verse 2 by the statement that these are the Feasts of YHWH and holy convocations. Then He notes the weekly Sabbath in verse 3, placing the Sabbath equal in significance to the Feasts. Yet it is not one of the annual Feasts because verse 4 restates that these (meaning what is to follow) are the Feasts of YHWH. Not being an annual Feast, the Sabbath is not set by the monthly new moon as are the annual Feasts.

Ps. 81:3: “Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.” The reference in Psalm 81:3 is to the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) on the first of the seventh month, the only festival that falls on a new moon; the verse calls it a solemn feast day because it is Trumpets, not because it is a new moon. Other versions split the verse and speak of two different observances: the new moon and a separate feast day:  

The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament
 “Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast.” (Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur)

New Living Translation
“Blow the ram's horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival!” (Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur)

The New Jerusalem Bible
“Blow the trumpet for the new month, for the full moon, for our feast day!” (Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur)

Psalm 104:19: “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.”

“Seasons” is moedim, meaning fixed times, festivals. In His commands for the Feasts, YHWH clearly gives the day of the month when they occur, such as Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Tabernacles and the exact count to the Feast of Weeks. All are based on the start of the month and its new moon. But He never describes the weekly Sabbath as being so many days from the beginning of the month or new moon. The Sabbath link to the new moon is nonexistent.

Amos 8:5: “When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?”  Is this passage saying the new moon is a Sabbath with no commerce allowed? As shown, work on the new moon was prescribed by YHWH and therefore the new moon cannot be a non-labor Sabbath. Amos 8:5 is likely speaking of the Feast of Trumpets, a Feast that is also a new moon day. On a Feast high day no work or commerce is to be performed.

Another possibility centers on the Hebrew. Because the Hebrew word translated "new moon" here (chodesh) can also mean "month," some scholars (going back 2,000 years) have interpreted Amos as referring to a harvest month: Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of the month of harvest, when the poor found what to eat in the fields; when they gleaned there they got a sufficiency of bread, and so had no need to buy corn [Lev. 23:22]; and hence these rich misers, who hoarded up the grain, are represented as wishing the harvest month were over that they might sell their grain to the poor, having had no demand for it during that month.  (John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible, Amos 8:5 note) “Month” is how the Douay-Rheims version translates “new moon.”

Regarding sacrifices, if every new moon day is a Sabbath then we should find the command to make the Sabbath offering on new moon days as well. Yet, no such command is given (Numbers 28:1-15).

So when is the Scriptural Sabbath?

Some people remark that we don’t know when the seventh day is anymore. The Christians use this argument a lot, trying to justify there pagan Sunday Worship practice. Here is just a little information proving that we have always known when the seventh day is:

The calendar has not been changed so as to confuse the days of the week. We can be positive that our seventh day is the same day Y’hoshua observed when He was here (I am sure He knew when the Sabbath was). Pope Gregory XIII did make a calendar change in 1582, but it did not interfere with the weekly cycle. Our present Gregorian calendar was named after him when he made that small change in 1582.

What did Pope Gregory do to the calendar? Before 1582 the Julian calendar had been in effect (which was a seven day week at that time), instituted by Julius Ceasar about 46 B.C. and named after him. But the Julian calendar had calculated the length of the year as 365 1/4 days, and the year is actually eleven minutes less than 365 1/4 days. Those eleven minutes accumulated, and by 1582 the numbering of the calendar was ten days out of harmony with the solar system. Gregory simply dropped those ten days out of the numbering of the calendar. It was Thursday, October 4, 1582, and the next day, Friday, should have been October 5. But Gregory made it October 15 instead, dropping exactly ten days to bring the calendar back into harmony with the heavenly bodies.

Were the days of the week confused? No. Friday still followed Thursday, and Saturday still followed Friday. The same seventh day remained, and the weekly cycle was not disturbed in the least. When we keep the seventh day, starting on Friday sunset until Saturday sunset, we are observing the same day Y’shua kept, and He did it every week according to Luke 4:16, which is the same Seventh day since the beginning when YHWH rested from His work.

So basically, if we want to be part of YHWH’s people and be saved, we have to keep THE Seventh day Sabbath. Otherwise we are serving another who is the Anti-Messiah.

Note that the Sabbath is THE Seventh Day. If it is determined by the moon cycle, it is no longer a Seventh day Sabbath as there is more than seven days between certain moon cycles making certain Sabbaths an eighth day Sabbath. If you claim it is that way, then you are calling YHWH and the Mashiyach Y’hoshua liars.

If the non Scriptural calendar changes again in the future, then we will still continue to observe the Scriptural Seventh day Sabbath, regardless of what day it falls on the new pagan calendar. It is easy to count to seven!!!